Tales of the Turtle Tots
by Tmnt5ever
Summary: We all know the story, don't we? Hamato Yoshi was mutated into a rat, and his four pet turtles were mutated into walking and talking turtles. Fifteen years later, they were allowed to go to the surface. But what happened in those fifteen years? Follow Hamato Yoshi and his sons from the very beginning and find out! R&R please! And brace yourselves for plenty of fluff!
1. Chapter 1 - The Mutation

Hamato Yoshi cried out in pain as a strange, glowing ooze hit his body. He crouched down, his hands clenched into tight fists, and he watched with both wonder and fear as his normal, human hands suddenly changed into three-fingered paws, his nails growing into sharp points. His face, too, was going through a transformation - his nose stretched out into a long snout, his teeth shifting about madly. Ears sprouted from the top of his head and he found he could hear a lot better. His clothes ripped apart and slowly tumbled to the floor, leaving him naked. Suddenly, he felt something growing quickly from his lower back. Eyes watering from the pain, Yoshi looked behind him, to find he had a long, pinkish tail - and it was still growing! His feet transformed into paws which looked much like his hands, and the rest of his body sprouted very dark, reddish brown fur. White stripes lined his snout. His eyes - once a deep, chocolate brown - were now a sort of red colour, and his eyesight was different, although only slightly but it was still noticeable.

Hamato Yoshi was finally relieved from the pain. He glanced down at his new body, and he let out a small gasp of shock. Yoshi was not human, but a giant, mutant rat! Yoshi steadied his breathing. He looked around the filthy alley - no sign of the glowing canister, or the twins dressed in black suits.

Yoshi looked down at his feet - no, his paws - and saw a baby turtle. One of the baby turtles he had just bought at the pet store, he presumed. The ooze had clearly hit the turtles, as well, as they were now toddling around on two legs, with two arms and three-fingered hands. Yoshi let out a small chuckle at the young one, stumbling about on his legs. Yoshi picked him carefully. The turtle had dark, blue eyes, and just from looking straight into those eyes, the rat noticed something rather... different about them. He pushed this to the back of his mind, for now at least.

Hamato Yoshi looked down at himself once more. Surely he could not walk around naked. There must be some form of clothing in this alley - in a trash can, perhaps? Holding the first young turtle closely to his new body, he slowly walked over to the trash can. He pulled off the lid and looked down. He saw what looked like a pair of dark red curtains, a pattern of three big flowers going down the side of them. Just his luck! Yoshi picked out the curtains with his free hand, put the lid back on the trash can and carefully placed the turtle on the top of the lid. The turtle sat down and watched with wide eyes as his new father tied the red curtains around his furry body. It seemed to resemble some sort of kimono - Yoshi was rather proud of himself. He grinned at the turtle tike and picked him up again, holding him tightly.

Yoshi saw something that caught his eye. Something was underneath an empty pizza box, and was making various types of noises whilst kicking at the box, trying to push it off himself. Turtle number one still firmly in his grip, he lifted up the pizza box with his free hand. As he lifted up the cardboard, Yoshi found that this was another turtle. The turtle, which had bright, green eyes, was still kicking with his eyes closed, even though the pizza box was off of him. Yoshi smiled and picked up the green-eyed turtle. The turtle stopped kicking and nuzzled deep into the giant rat's body, sucking his thumb as he did so.

'Was there not another?' Yoshi thought for a moment, furrowing his brows. There was definitely at least two more turtles hiding somewhere beneath all of this trash in the horrid alley. Yoshi placed the two turtles in the empty pizza box, closing the lid to keep them as warm as he could. He kept the lid open slightly so they could still breathe. He held the box tightly in his hand and shuffled around the alley. It was weird, walking on paws which had only three toes. Yoshi figured he would have to get used to that - he wasn't turning human any time soon.

There was scrunching noise coming from behind the mutant. He frowned slightly and turned around slowly, only to find a third turtle. The third one was looking very deep in thought, holding an empty chip packet in his two little hands. Yoshi tilted his head and grinned at the sight. This turtle had eyes like he did, before the mutation.

'Where could the fourth be?' Yoshi thought, placing the third turtle with the first two.

At least thirty minutes had passed before he found the fourth turtle. Yoshi was 99% sure that he would never find this one. The fourth turtle had freckles dotted around both his cheeks, and had lighter blue eyes than the first. Yoshi found him giggling behind a trash can. Obviously he found the game 'hide and seek' hilarious.

Once all of the turtles were in the pizza box, Yoshi wondered about where he could stay now. He certainly could not stay in this alley, surely somebody would come across a giant, mutated rat and four baby turtles.

And that's when he spotted the manhole lid, half open. He could smell the dreaded sewage already, but did he really have any other choice? He could go back to his house, but that meant risking his life. Almost everyone in New York City had a gun, be it a small pistol or a machine gun, and they would probably shoot at him and his four new adopted sons. If he went into the sewer, it would make life a lot easier for his new family.

Yoshi decided on the easy option.

Holding onto the pizza box tightly, he pushed open the lid using one of his paws and jumped down. He was an extremely skilled martial artist so he had no problem landing, even with his new rodent body.

He just stood there for a while, thinking. Thinking about how he would survive in the sewer with no food and only sewage water which would probably kill him in an instant. Thinking about how he would care for four mutant male turtle tots.

But if he could survive being mutated into a giant rat, he could surely manage bringing up four sons by himself... right?


	2. Chapter 2 - A New Home

After what seemed like pointless hours of searching for somewhere suitable for Hamato Yoshi and his four turtle sons, he finally came across an abandoned subway station. It looked as if the walls may come crumbling down any minute, and Yoshi was cautious of the place. It had clearly been out of use for a while as cobwebs hid in every corner and it needed an extremely good dusting. Due to Yoshi's new height, he would probably be able to reach higher in order to clean thoroughly. Placing the four tikes on the floor (still enclosed in the pizza box), he walked up to the most hazardous area. He thought for a moment. How was he supposed to clean without any proper utensils? The most he had were a few spare bricks lying around. What could he do with them? Throw them at the wall?

Yoshi walked back over to the pizza box and sat next to it in his meditation position. He couldn't meditate properly, though, as he couldn't stop thinking about his four sons. A few minutes passed by before Yoshi felt something tugging at his make-do kimono. Opening one eye, he looked down towards the pulling. It was the dark blue eyed turtle, looking up at him and clenching at his clothing tightly. Yoshi tilted his head and rose an eyebrow before picking up the young one. He sighed and shook his head.

"How did I get myself into this situation?" Yoshi said to the turtle, stroking his head slightly. The three other toddlers gathered around them. The brown eyed one looked up at his adoptive father in confusion. He was probably overwhelmed - after all, he had been mutated into a turtle with more human instincts and features than an animal. The lighter blue eyed one was smiling up at Yoshi, showing his dimples which Yoshi found to be quite endearing. The green eyed one was just frowning, and sitting with his arms crossed like a stroppy child. Well, he was a stroppy child. At least he seemed to be.

Placing the dark blue eyed turtle with his three brothers, Yoshi stood up again with his hands folded behind his back. He paced back and forth in the deserted station, deep in thought. The toddlers watched him, wondering what he was thinking of. The turtles jumped when Yoshi snapped his fingers.

"I know..." He smiled. He would have to leave the turtles down here whilst he rose to the surface to his apartment. It wouldn't be as simple as that, though. He would have to wait until the sun set so he could climb back up the manhole. There would still be people wandering the streets at that time, however, so he would have to skim the rooftops until he reached his apartment. He remembered he'd left one window open as he thought he would only be gone for an hour or two, but he would be gone for a lot longer than that. It was sad, really, how he would have to live the rest of his life underneath New York, in the sewers. But it didn't bother him that much. It's not like he had a family to care for on the surface. Not anymore.

Yoshi sighed, closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them.

He sat next to his four sons. It was silent for at least half an hour before Yoshi finally spoke.

"Can you all understand what I am saying?" He asked. The turtles exchanged looks with each other before nodding at the mutant rodent. "Do you have - speech abilities?" He asked again. They all opened their mouths and began speaking in gibberish, which Yoshi found quite cute.

They sat there all day, trying to communicate with each other, getting frustrated with themselves when they could not pronounce a word correctly. Yoshi spent this time meditating, getting used to his new body. Then he realised it was time to go up top.

He to his four sons who were still attempting conversation.

"I need you -" he crouched down next to the dark blue eyed turtle, "to take care of your brothers while I am gone. Do not wander off anywhere. I do not want you to get lost. Do you understand?"

The dark blue eyed turtle smiled slightly, stood up and hugged his father's snout. "Y-yes... daddy."

Yoshi looked at his sons, tears rising in his eyes. He had learnt how to speak. The hours had paid off. He smiled at his turtles, and stood up once again. "I will be back. I promise."

The four turtles waved and smiled up at their dad. Yoshi waved back slightly and headed out into the sewer again.

'I am incredibly stupid,' he thought as he pushed open a nearby manhole cover.


	3. Chapter 3 - Only The Absolute Necessary

**I've actually just realised something: I didn't say all that copyright stuff! I'm so sorry, don't kill me Nickelodeon and TMNT owners:(**

**I don't own any turtles or rats, okay? Good.**

**And I'm so grateful for all the feedback! Thank you guys, I'm so glad you like my story!**

**And now, chapter 3! Hope you enjoy it!**

Yoshi carefully pushed up the manhole lid and slid it across. He pulled himself up into an alley. It was a different alleythan before, but he found he was closer to his apartment, so it didn't matter. He closed the manhole cover.

He stayed in the shadows. That was the art of the ninja, after all. The art of invisibility, in fact. He could see some people walking the streets, completely oblivious to the giant rat hiding in an alley. Yoshi spied a ladder at the opposite side of alley and quickly jumped over to it.

Holding onto one of the bars, he pulled himself up the ladder. He found it easier to do this with paws. He had to be careful with his new pointy claws, though. He didn't want to accidentally hurt one of his turtles.

Yoshi pulled himself up to the rooftop, and looked up at the sky. He could see a few stars now. At least he was a little bit safer from New Yorkers now. He was paranoid so he stayed hidden deep within the shadows and ran as quick as he could to his apartment, occasionally jumping over gaps between buildings.

After ten minutes worth of running, Yoshi finally made it to the building he was staying in, he shuffled down a drain pipe and jumped onto the balcony of the apartment. He could feel a lump in his throat as he realised that this could be the very last time he ever set foot into his apartment.

He swallowed down the lump and carefully pushed open the window to the apartment. He stepped in and looked around, thinking about what was necessary and what wasn't. He headed to his bedroom, making a list in his head on what was needed.

Yoshi folded a two thick blankets: one for his sons and one for him. It was quite chilly down in the sewers, so he would definitely need that. He realised that he would not be able to carry down all of the things needed to be able to survive down below, so he picked up an extra large bag from deep within his wardrobe and began packing.

By the time he was finished packing, it was 10:00 pm. A shock went through him when he realised that he had just left his four sons in a deserted station by themselves. He mentally kicked himself, shoved a few more things into the oversized bag, slung it over his shoulder and dashed out of the same window he had came in. He had put on his old watch so he could keep track of time down in the station.

He rushed towards the same alley as before and didn't waste time climbing down the ladder; he jumped and landed with a gentle thud on the damp ground. He opened the manhole cover and jumped down. Making sure the lid was closed once more, he ran to the old station. It took a little less time to find it as he memorised where it was.

As Yoshi entered the station, he frowned and looked around. He couldn't see his turtles. Anywhere.

He dropped the bag and began looking. "Boys? Do not play tricks on me. This is not funny!" He yelled, his voice bouncing off the walls.

Suddenly, he heard crying. He looked straight to the pizza box and could here shuffling. He sighed in relief and opened the box, and smiled at the sight.

The dark blue eyed turtle was hugging the lighter blue eyed turtle, who had clearly been the one crying due to the wet patches on his cheek. The brown eyed and green eyed turtle were just sat, watching with concerned faces as their two brothers hung on to each other as if their life depended on it. The lighter blue eyes turtle smiled and wide smile as he saw his father above them, and Yoshi was shocked to find that he had already grown a tooth.

"There, there," Yoshi said soothingly, picking up the lighter blue eyed turtle.

After five minutes, the turtle was once again gurgling happily to himself.

"Are you all hungry?" Yoshi asked with a grin. They all shook their heads vigorously and Yoshi chuckled. He searched the bag and pulled out a full litre of milk. He poured some into four bottles. He had found the bottles from the cupboard in which he kept his memories. He watched them suck on the bottles happily and it reminded him of his daughter... No. He would not let himself think of that. Not now. He had his family. His little family, the one he had dreamed so much of having. Someone to care for, someone to love, someone to cherish.

And he could not be happier.


	4. Chapter 4 - Searching For Names

**Again, thanks for the feedback! You guys are the best! And thank you to my followers, as well!**

**I don't own TMNT. If I did then April wouldn't be a teenager in the new series. I'm just saying...**

The four turtles lay peacefully on two pillows, softly snoring away. Yoshi was still up, watching their chests rise up and down slowly. If somebody had told him that this is what his future would consist of, he would have called them crazy. But this would be it, wouldn't it? He would care for four mutant boys for the rest of his life and there was nothing he could do about it.

He loved his baby turtles, of course he did. But if he got the chance to go back in time and change what happened that night, he would most likely take that chance. He sighed and stood up, and looked down at his watch. 7:45 am. A bit too early to wake four toddlers.

Maybe he should take advantage of this spare time and read a book that he'd bought a few months ago but had never actually given it a chance. It was about artists in the Renaissance.

Yoshi sat down again, and picked up the book from the large bag and opened it up. It's first four chapters were named after four very well-known artist in the Renaissance: Leonardo Da Vinci, Donatello di Niccolò di Betto Bardi , Raffaello Sanzio and Michelangelo Buonarroti. For some reason, the names reminded Yoshi of his four sons. He looked up from the book and towards them. He could only tell them apart by the few differences they had. The gap between one's teeth, and one had freckles. He'd have to just guess which turtle had the dark blue eyes and which one had the deep green eyes.

He stood up and walked towards the turtles. Leonardo... he liked that name. He would definitely be calling one that. He smiled down at the one who was at the left of the group of brothers, and carefully placed a paw on his forehead.

"Leonardo..." He whispered. He moved towards next, who was the one with gap in his teeth. He could tell as he was breathing through his mouth. "Donatello..." He whispered again, placing a paw on his forehead. He moved to the one next to Donatello, placing a hand on his forehead as well. Raffaello... He wasn't keen on that. Raphael... That was better. "Raphael..." He chuckled slightly, patting his head softly. Now, he was next to the baby turtle with freckles - at least, he assumed he was the baby. "Michelangelo." He smiled.

Now, Yoshi himself... He could not tell them his name was Yoshi. He lost his name in a battle with his old enemy, Oroku Saki. A battle over a woman...

Yoshi shook his head. He had to come up with a new name. He looked around the station, which wasn't so empty anymore. He had filled the place with rugs and pillows so it would seem a bit more cosy. He couldn't do anything about the heat, though. It was very cold down there, and he had sacrificed his last blanket to his turtles.

Sighing, he looked around. He saw dust falling to the floor. Master Dusty? God, no.

He noticed a cockroach huddling into a small hole in the wall. Master Cocky? Oh, no. Not a chance. Master Roach? That's as bad, or worse.

He noticed a few shards of wood on the floor from where he had been building a door. He'd had a few blocks of wood lying around spare in his apartment from where he was building a shelf for all of his books, but he had more important things in mind now. He frowned and stared at the shards of wood.

Master Splinter... That had a nice ring to it. Master Splinter it is.

As he finally decided on a name, he could hear shuffling from a certain part of the room. Yosh - Splinter looked to find Leonardo sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Leonardo had dark blue eyes...

'That is good to know,' Splinter thought.

Leonardo stood up, stumbling slightly, and Splinter was extremely surprised to see that he had already grew at least four inches in size. Leonardo walked up to Splinter, his arms outstretched. He wrapped his short arms around Splinter's neck and rested his head on his shoulder. Splinter smiled as he could feel a warmth spreading from within his chest and hugged his little toddler back.

"Morning Daddy," he said sleepily.

"Good morning, my son. Did you sleep well?" Splinter asked, sitting Leonardo on his lap.

"Mmm," Leonardo smiled.

"I have a name for you." Splinter grinned as he saw Leonardo's face light up.

"Really?" He asked excitedly. He was definitely awake now.

Splinter chuckled. "Yes, Leonardo. I do."

"Le - Leon - Leonar...do?" Leonardo frowned, segmenting the name. Splinter nodded. "Hmm... it's... nice..." He smiled.

"I'm glad you think so, as I won't be changing it any time soon." The mutant rat chuckled and rubbed his little son's head.

They both looked up and saw Donatello and Raphael headed towards them. They, too, had grown, Donatello a few inches more than his two other brothers. Splinter stretched out his arm and the two toddlers joined him and Leonardo.

"Good morning, boys," he smiled down at them. Donatello grinned back and a corner of Raphael's tugged slightly. Splinter guessed he wasn't really the smiling type. So, Raphael was the one with deep green eyes. Interesting.

"Mor...ning," Raphael replied. He was still learning how to speak.

"Morning!" Donatello said. He could speak extremely well. He was unbelievably smart for a toddler.

"Would you like for me to inform you of your names?" Splinter grinned. Raphael shrugged but he could see in his eyes that he wanted to know. Donatello just looked up at his father with a questioning look on his face. He placed a paw on Donatello's shoulder. "Donatello."

Donatello smiled and nodded. "I like it!"

"I'm glad you do," Splinter laughed, and placed his paw on Raphael's shoulder. "And Raphael."

Raphael just shrugged again. Splinter began to think he disliked the name, but changed his mind when he saw Raphael smirk slightly when he thought his father wasn't looking.

A loud whine echoed through the room. It made Splinter jump, but then he realised it was just Michelangelo. Frowning, he told the three turtles on his lap to stand up for a moment while he saw to the youngest brother.

"What is the matter, my son?" Splinter asked, picking up Michelangelo and cradling him. "Tell me."

"N...nightmare..." he shivered and clung to his father.

"There, there. Dreams cannot hurt you, Michelangelo."

The freckly turtle looked up at Splinter, his cheeks damp, and smiled. "M - M - Mikey...?" He frowned, focusing on the word he was trying to pronounce.

Splinter chuckled slightly. "If that is easier for you... Mikey."

Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello came and huddled around their father whilst Splinter was still comforting Michelangelo.

Once Michelangelo was happy again, Splinter placed him on the ground. A few minutes later, the four turtles were all playing together, throwing tantrums when they didn't win at a game or thought another was cheating. But Splinter didn't mind calming them down.

As that is what fathers do.


	5. Dang Writer's Block

**Writers Block**

**So... Howdy guys! First, I wanna say an absolutely HUGE thank you to all of my reviewers, favouriters, and followers on this story! You are the best! :D**

**I'm happy with this story, with where it is now. Should I carry it on? I'm sort of suffering from writer's block at the moment and I'm doubting writing another chapter because it might not make sense at all... :(**

**Just leave your opinions in the review thing, your ideas and whatnot... **

**By ideas I mean ideas for little drabbles when the turtles were little, ideas for how they managed to get televisions and sofas into the lair... How Raphael chipped his shell, stuff like that!**

**Bye bye for now! And again, thank you so much! :)**


	6. Chapter 6 - It's All Fun And Games

**Thank you guys for your opinions! You've definitely encouraged me to make another chapter!**

**I don't own TMNT, they belong to their amazing owners. It would be awesome to own four turtles though. And a rat.**

Chapter Six - It's All Fun And Games...

A few weeks had passed since the day Hamato Yoshi's life had changed forever, and already he had grown to love his new life with his four young sons.

"Leo!" Raphael shouted at his older brother. "You cheated!"

They were playing hide and seek, and the angry turtle was accusing his sibling of opening his eyes whilst he was trying to find a good hiding spot. All of the turtles had grown quite a bit in such a short space of time, and looked around seven to ten years old, although they were only four. They had learnt had to speak English and were now learning Japanese from their Sensei.

"No, I didn't!" Leonardo argued, frowning.

"Yes, you did! You opened your eyes!" Raphael yelled back at him.

It had been an extremely tiring few weeks for their Master Splinter; this was the only time he could get some rest. But being a single father, getting at least five minutes of peace was an impossibility.

"Boys!" Splinter opened his eyes. He was sitting, his legs crossed. "What is wrong?"

Raphael pointed at his brother accusingly. "Leo cheated at hide and seek!"

"No, I didn't! Daddy, he's lying!" Leo yelled at his father. Mikey and Donatello were just drawing in a corner but had stopped and were now listening intently to the argument.

"Raphael? Are you telling the truth?" Splinter rose an eyebrow. Raphael frowned and looked at his feet.

"Well, I... I didn't see him cheat... But I bet he did!" Raphael huffed and crossed his arms tightly across his plastron.

"I do not want to hear anybody, and I mean anybody -" Splinter shot a glance at Leo, Donatello and Mikey, "lying. It is extremely bad and can get you into bother."

"Yeah, Raph! Lying is bad!" Leo said in half serious, half mocking voice.

In the blink of an eye, Raphael had tackled Leonardo to the ground and they were both rolling around the floor, smacking each other.

"BOTH OF YOU! STOP THIS INSTANT!" Splinter yelled, making Mikey and Donatello cover their ears and flinch. The giant rodent stood up and quickly made his way over to the fighting children. Using his strong arms, he picked Leonardo off the floor, clinging to him as Raphael stood, his eyes full of anger.

"Yeah, save Leonardo! Because we all know he's your FAVOURITE!" Raphael cried, years streaming from his eyes. Splinter placed Leonardo on the floor, but when he looked back up, Raphael was gone. He looked around the station as his stomach turned. No sight of him.

They didn't have individual rooms yet, just one, big family room, so where could his young turtle have got to? Splinter could feel his stomach turned again.

He lost a child once. He would not go through that again.

"Leonardo, watch over your brothers," he told the eldest as he ran out of the station and into the sewers.

It was especially cold that night. Snow had hit New York like a ton of bricks, and the sewer water was absolutely freezing.

"Raphael?" Splinter yelled out, only receiving the echoes of his own voice. "Raphael!" He shouted again. Nothing

He could feel tears rising in his eyes. Maybe it did seem like he favoured Leonardo - he was the first turtle he found, the eldest, the first to speak, the first to walk... Of course the others would feel that way!

'You old fool!' Splinter thought as a single tear rolled down his furry cheek. He sat down on a step in the sewer, just thinking. What if he never saw his little tot again? What if he hurt himself - or worse?

Splinter closed his eyes for a moment. After a few seconds, he could hear sloshing in the water. He looked up to see Raphael, walking slowly up to him, with what seemed to be a lightening shaped chip in the right corner of his plastron.

"Daddy, I -" was all Raphael managed to get before Splinter engulfed him in a tight hug.

"Don't you ever do this to me again! You silly boy!" He sighed, keeping his child tightly in his grip.

"I'm sorry... Leo makes me... Angry..." He mumbled whilst hugging his father.

As Splinter let go of him, he noticed the chip in his plastron. "What happened?" He asked, rubbing a thumb over the chip. Raphael looked towards it and them back at the rat.

"I was running... And I tripped... And... It hurts, daddy..." He murmured as he began crying again.

"Shush, my son," Splinter said comfortingly, picking up Raphael and walking back to the station, slowly rocking him.

As they arrived back at the station, they saw Michelangelo and Donatello in the same position as before, just colouring, and Leonardo sitting by himself, sniffing.

"Daddy!" Leo jumped up and ran over to them. "Raphie! You're okay!"

"Don't call me Raphie," Raphael frowned as Splinter set him on the ground.

"I'm sorry, bro..." Leo hugged him softly and Raphael kept his hands by his sides, but a smile was itching at the corners of his lips and eventually he hugged his brother back.

"It's okay." He grinned.

"Boys," Splinter began, "may I have a word with you?"

The four turtles walked slowly up to their Master.

"You are not in trouble. Sit around me." He told them, and they did as asked.

"You do know that I love you all equally?" He asked. They exchanged looks and then nodded, apart from Raphael, who looked at the floor. "Leonardo may be the eldest, Raphael may be the strongest, Donatello may be the smartest and Michelangelo may be..." Splinter glanced at Michelangelo, who was gazing into space, "the most free-spirited... But you are all my children, and I love you all."

"Yes, daddy," Raphael smiled. Splinter returned the smile. He looked down at his watch and noticed the time. 9:35 pm.

"Good. Now, bed."

They all groaned in unison.

"No excuses." Splinter told them. They all moaned as the stood up and wandered over to their two pillows which made up for the bed they didn't have.

Leonardo lay down first, Raphael next to him, and then Donatello and Mikey. They slowly drifted off to sleep as Splinter sang them an old Japanese lullaby from when he himself was a child.

Eventually, he set himself off to sleep, and he lay beside his four sons and slept until dawn, happy that there were no doubts in their minds about favouritism.

**Damn, this was messed up. Tell me what you think...**


	7. Chapter 7 - Reading Troubles

**I want to say a HUUUGEEEE thank you to the people who have followed, favourited and reviewed my story. You make me happy ^.^**

**To answer Blue Rose Kelly's question, yes, he was crying because he missed Splinter :-)**

**The idea for this chapter wasn't mine, it was the idea of a wonderful user called Puldoh! Thanks dude! :D**

Once again, I don't own the turtles or Splinter. Would be cool if I did though, aha

Here we go! Chapter seven! Wow.

It had been quite a frustrating day for the mutant rat and his four toddlers. He had been topside, and picked out a few books which would be suitable for each of the turtles. He didn't mind telling them what words meant, or how to pronounce them. What he did mind, however, was when his youngest asked him every second. He might as well have just read the book to him.

"Uh, daddy?" Michelangelo raised his hand slightly. With an exasperated sigh, Splinter turned to face the young turtle.

"What is it this time, Michelangelo?" Splinter sat beside him, looking at the book over Mikey's shoulder.

"I - I can't say this..." He pointed somewhere in the book. The book only had a few lines on each page. They were mostly just describing what was happening in the pictures. Splinter sighed again.

"Pronounce the word in sections," he began, and pointed toward the word, "this word is 'apple'. So to split the word up, you say ap-ple. Understand?"

Michelangelo looked up at his master and nodded silently. Splinter wasn't one hundred percent sure Mikey knew what to do, but he went along with it to see what whether Mikey would understand it himself.

A few minutes later, when Splinter was listening to Donatello read with ease, he heard something slam on floor. He glanced towards Mikey with a frown, and his youngest son was standing up, tears balancing over his eyelids. Splinter stood up.

"Michelangelo!" He said loudly. "What is the matter?"

"I'm too stupid to read!" He cried. Splinter watched as his son ran out of the station and into the sewers.

"Michelangelo!" He shouted again. He was about to run after him before one of his turtles grabbed his hand.

"Daddy, wait!" Donatello said, pulling Splinter.

"Later, Donatello!" Splinter yelled and set off towards the sewers, unaware that his intelligent son was following behind him.

"Please listen, daddy!" Donnie pleaded. Splinter frowned.

"Donatello, go back to the station! This instant!" He shouted.

"But I think I know why Mikey can't read!"

Splinter stopped in his tracks and looked at Donatello with wide eyes. "Tell me."

"He has something called..." He pulled out a piece of paper from nowhere. Splinter tilted his head. "Dys-lex-ia." He pronounced the words in sections.

"Dyslexia. Of course." Splinter nodded. 'Oh, how could you be so blind?' He thought to himself, shaking his head. "Donatello, take my hand. You've came this far, I cannot let you go back alone."

Donatello did as was told and held his father's hand whilst they looked for his youngest sibling.

"Mikey!" Donnie would occasionally shout.

This was the second time in two weeks that one of Splinter's sons had ran away because of him, and he felt unbelievably guilty.

"Dad, can you hear that?" Donatello said, breaking the silence. Splinter stopped breathing for a second. A child crying.

"Yes." He said after a minute. They both ran towards the crying, and saw Michelangelo, resting his chin on his knees and crying to himself.

"Mikey!" Donnie smiled and ran towards his brother, hugging him.

"Michelangelo," he breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to the hugging turtles. "Never do this to me again. Did you not see how scared I was when Raphael decided to run away?"

"I'm sorry, daddy. I'm really, really sorry." Michelangelo hugged Splinter's leg. "I just don't get how Donnie and Leo and Raph can learn to read real easy and I... I'm just dumb." Splinter made a face at the last word.

"Dumb? I know not of that word." He said, trying to cheer his son up. He carried him in his arms. "You are not dumb, my son. You just have trouble with words."

"Yeah! They go all mushy in my head." He pointed at his head.

"Mhmm. That's why I am going to give you extra help."

"Thanks!" He smiled at his rodent father and hugged him. Splinter hugged him tightly, took Donnie's hand and they walked slowly back to the station as Mikey and Donnie played a game of 'I spy'.

"I spy... Something wet." Mikey grinned.

"The sewage water?" Donnie replied.

"You're good at this!" Mikey laughed and the three mutants stepped back into the station. Leonardo and Raphael had fell asleep, laying beside each other on the floor.

Splinter smiled slightly at the sight and covered them with a blanket. Thankfully it was getting a little warmer in the station now.

"Daddy, do I have to learn words now?" Mikey yawned.

"Get some sleep. We will talk about it in the morning." Splinter told him. Mikey nodded and joined his eldest brothers. Donnie was about to join them, until Splinter beckoned him.

"Yeah, dad?" Donnie asked sleepily.

"Thank you, Donatello. Without your intelligence, we may have never had found out about your young brother's problem." Splinter saw Donatello smile as he said 'your intelligence'.

"Uhm..." Donnie said shyly. "You're welcome... Night, daddy." He lay beside Michelangelo and slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Goodnight, my son." Splinter smiled, and meditated for the rest of the night.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Discovery Of Television

**You lot don't understand how much your reviews mean to me, you are the best and I'm so grateful**

**To EpicThunder101 - it hasn't really been said whether he had ADHD or dyslexia or anything like that, a user called Puldoh gave me the idea for Mikey having dyslexia :-) hope that's cleared it up for you**

**Forgot to say this in the last chapter, whoops ;3 Last time I checked I didn't own a mutant rat or four ninja turtles**

**Here you go guys, chapter eight ^.^ can't believe I've made it this far**

Splinter had made his way topside again, as he noticed the turtles were getting bored of books and chasing each other around the station. He'd decided on giving them something special. It was five months since they had been mutated, and since it marked the day they all became one, Splinter had chosen something rather magnificent.

The gift of television.

It would be hard, carrying the rather large television across rooftops and through a sewer. But you there's always a price to pay when you want something.

Splinter never really watched much TV as a human; he only ever watched it whenever there was an interesting documentary on about nature, or just anything educational. It was quite a good television, the sound was fine, he had a few children's channels on there which would show things like early morning cartoons and puppet shows. The four children were usually easily amused by puppets. Splinter found this out whilst trying to cheer them up when they all had the same nightmare about their father not being there, and he had put a sock over his hand and made up a silly rhyme on the spot. He'd made it look like the sock was singing the rhyme.

Unplugging the TV from the plug socket, Splinter realised something. How can you watch television without it being plugged in? He was sure there were not any plug sockets in his home down below, and he could not fit one in by himself. He could get electrocuted, or worse, he could accidentally hurt one of his turtles.

Frowning, Splinter sat down on his sofa. He really did have his moments when he proved he was not as smart as people believed he was.

He sighed and closed his eyes, thinking for a moment. And then he remembered. He had a portable DVD player underneath his bed! And he had a few DVDs that would be suitable for the turtles, too. Like a cartoon, called 'Space Heroes'. Splinter came across this whilst looking for documentary DVDs in a store and thought the animation style was rather unique, but he had never actually got around to watching it.

He walked quickly into his room and picked up the portable DVD player from underneath the large double bed. It was quite small, but he was sure the turtles would appreciate it.

He picked out a few DVDs, including the 'Space Heroes' one. He also picked out one for himself which he could watch whenever he needed to relax for a while. Taking care of four mutant toddlers was a challenge and sometimes meditation just didn't cut it.

He placed the DVDs and the DVD player into a smaller bag than before and jumped out of the window, climbed up the drain pipe and onto the roof top. He didn't like leaving the turtles alone for long. God only knows what they get up to when they are alone...

It was only 5:30 pm by the time Splinter had got back, and the turtles were playing a game of 'I spy'. They had taken a liking to the game ever since Michelangelo had gone missing, and they would spend hours on end just playing the silly game, getting frustrated with themselves when they couldn't point out what their sibling was spying.

Splinter stepped into the station, holding the bag behind his back.

"Whatcha got there, daddio?" Mikey smiled and stood up.

'He doesn't miss a thing, does he?' Splinter thought with a slight grin. He walked over to his rug, sat down with his legs crossed and placed the bag on his lap.

"Close your eyes," he told his four sons as they sat around him. He carefully slid the portable DVD player out of the bag, placed the bag to the side and put the DVD player on the floor so it was in the middle of the turtles and their father. "You may open."

Each of the turtles looked down at the DVD player.

"Wow! That's, uh..." Leonardo began.

"It's... Something..." Raphael said, scratching his head.

"Looks pretty cool if you ask me!" Donnie smiled.

"Cool? It looks awesome!" Mikey smiled his signature smile, and began to reach for the DVD player before Splinter snatched it from the ground. When Mikey, got his hands on something, he was destined to break it. That's why Splinter's photo frame with a picture of his army days lay smashed in a corner of the station. Splinter didn't mind too much; the photo was still in tact.

"This is called a DVD player. You placed discs -" Splinter paused for a moment as he took the 'Space Heroes' disc out of it's case and placed it into the disc compartment of the DVD player, "into here, and press play." The rodent pressed a button the DVD player, and it came up with a menu for the cartoon. Splinter clicked play and the DVD player began playing the cartoon. It was a pretty good picture, only a bit small.

"So cool!" Leonardo gaped as he watched the cartoon with wide eyes.

"Yes. But do not stare at it for too long, my son. It may hurt your eyes." Splinter passed Leonardo the DVD player and Leonardo welcomed it with open arms. Raphael moaned and stood up.

"Lame!" He exclaimed, and walked over to a corner in the room where he had last left his colours.

"I like it!" Mikey grinned and watched the cartoon over Leo's shoulder.

"Uh, it's okay, I guess," Donnie shrugged and looked over to Raphael. He'd decided that colouring was better than watching a cartoon he had no interest in.

Michelangelo and Leonardo spent hours watching every episode of 'Space Heroes'. It was clear that Leonardo loved the show the most as he took extra care holding the DVD player where as Mikey just held it like it was some sort of toy. Splinter had to take it off them by 9:00 pm. If he hadn't, they'd have most likely of watched every episode again.

"That is enough for today." Splinter said, turning off the DVD player and placing it back in the bag.

"Aww!" Leonardo and Mikey said in unison.

"Bed. Now." Splinter demanded. The two brothers headed towards their other two siblings, who had fallen asleep two hours ago.

"Night, daddy," Mikey yawned.

"Good night, Michelangelo, Leonardo," Splinter replied.

"Good night, captain - I mean dad!" Leonardo corrected himself quickly. Splinter chuckled and watched as Leonardo and Michelangelo quickly fell to sleep.

Late at night, Splinter woke up to hear the sound of humming. It was Leonardo.

And he was humming the 'Space Heroes' theme tune.


	9. Chapter 9 - Training Begins

**CHAPTAH NINE FOR U GLORIOUS READAHZ**

**Just kidding I don't type like that, aha**

**So, I have loads of ideas on little drabbles thanks to a certain reader *cough* Puldoh *cough cough*, but I've really got to get to the part where they begin learning ninjutsu**

**I** **don't own this amazing show or any of it's characters :3**

Leonardo sighed. The station was getting extremely boring now - he had watched every episode of 'Space Heroes' at least ten times, and all of the other DVDs were either in Japanese (which was no use as they couldn't keep up with the subtitles), or they were dubbed really badly.

Splinter had gone topside again to get a few supplies for his family. Mikey was playing by himself (he had made little paper dolls), Raphael was in one of his moods (a turtle tantrum, Donatello liked to say) and was drawing a rather graphic picture to get his anger out, and Donnie was fiddling about with the DVD player, trying to get better picture and sound quality on a nature documentary he had been watching.

Leonardo let out a loud groan of boredom. He stood up and walked towards Splinter's large bag, which he had left for some reason. Leonardo figured because he only went for a few supplies he wouldn't have needed such a large bag.

"Hm," the oldest brother stopped for a moment. Surely this would be invading his father's privacy. But then he pushed that to the back of his mind. After all, needs must...

He rummaged around in the bag, finding several paintings of the same family: a young Japanese couple, with a daughter. Leo just thought it was a famous painting Splinter had took an interest in.

He searched a little deeper, and after two minutes of looking, he saw a book titled 'The Art Of Ninjutsu'. Leo frowned and opened the book.

It was an extremely heavy book, so Leonardo sat down and placed it onto his lap to read it. To his surprise, he found the book rather interesting; all the fighting techniques, the weapons, it all excited him.

Leonardo jumped as he heard footsteps on the floor.

"Leonardo?" The wise rat raised an eyebrow and shot a glance at the book in the young turtle's lap.

"I'm - I'm sorry, dad!" He stood up and quickly placed the book into the bag.

Splinter chuckled. "It is fine, my son. You were curious. You are only young, after all."

"Daddy!" Michelangelo yelled from a spot in the room and ran up to his father, jumping up to him and wrapping his arms around his neck.

"I believe I've been missed?" Splinter asked, smiling and hugging back his youngest son.

Placing Mikey back down, Splinter walked over to his meditation rug, and set down the smaller bag next to the large one. He sat next to it. "If I'm honest, I'm quite glad you found the book, Leonardo." He said softly.

"You are?" Leo's eyes widened in surprise. He walked over and sat next to his father whilst Mikey went back to playing.

"Yes. Last night, when you were all sleeping, I had an idea whilst meditating," Splinter picked out a medium sized wooden sword from the smaller bag and placed it carefully onto his lap. "I am going to be your Sensei."

"Sen...sei?" Leonardo frowned at the word.

"Yes. It means teacher in my language." Splinter told him. "I've been noticing how much energy you boys have, and how strong you are all becoming. It would be a shame if it were to be wasted."

"Oh. So... What are you gonna teach me?"

"Not just you, my son. Your brothers, too. I shall be teaching you the ways of Ninjutsu," the giant rodent smiled slightly as he saw his son's face light up.

"Wow!" Leonardo grinned. "Now I can be just like Captain Ryan! I'll be a hero!" The turtle stood up and put one hand on his hip and one hand in the air, clenched into a fist.

"Sit down, Leonardo," Splinter sighed, unimpressed by his son's determination to be an exact replica of a fictional character. He knew he was only young and that there was always a chance he would grow out of the cartoon, but then again, there might not be.

Leonardo sat down. Splinter opened his mouth to speak, but Raphael interrupted him. "Hey, dad! Look what I drew!" He grinned, giving him a piece of paper. It was a picture of Captain Ryan being zapped by Commander Grundch. Splinter forced a grin at the graphic picture.

"Lovely, Raphael," he said, placing the drawing beside him. "Sit down, please. In fact, Donatello! Michelangelo! Join us."

Donatello and Michelangelo looked at each other cautiously before heading toward the rest of their family. "Are we in trouble?" Mikey asked, sitting down. Donnie sat beside him.

"No," Splinter chucked. "I would just like to take this time tell you all something that will change your lives forever."

"Ooooh!" Raphael said sarcastically. Mikey stifled a laugh.

Splinter frowned. These boys were becoming more and more disobedient every day. "I am going to be teaching you the art of the ninja." Splinter said after a moment of silence.

"Woah, the art of ninja... What's a ninja?" Mikey asked, confused.

"A ninja is a person trained in ninjutsu, an ancient Japanese battle art." Splinter told them.

"Battles? Awesome!" Raphael grinned, punching the air.

"This is no game, Raphael. Training to be a ninja will drain you physically, spiritually and mentally." Splinter sighed.

"But still, knowing how to fight..." Raphael continued.

"Yes. Knowing how to fight is not only good for you, but it is a privilege." Splinter closed his eyes for a moment.

"So what does the wooden knife have to do with Ninjustu?" Donatello frowned.

"It is not a knife, Donatello. This is a sword," he lifted up the sword carefully. Mikey reached out to touch it but he slapped his hand away. "You will each be using this as part of your training. When you are all experienced enough, you will receive your very own weapons."

"Do we get to choose which weapons we get?" Leonardo asked.

"No. I will choose, as I will have seen what weapon you will be most capable of." Splinter said.

"N'aw." Raphael pouted.

"This is so awesome! I'm gonna be a ninja!" Mikey chuckled away to himself.

"Yes, you are. So we best get practicing now." And with that, Splinter stood, sword in hand, and began showing his turtles different hand movements they could do with the sword.

By the end of the day, Leonardo had learnt nearly all of the techniques, Raphael some of them, Donatello a few and Michelangelo... He wasn't quite getting the hang of it.

At least Splinter knew who would be getting the katana.


	10. Chapter 10 - Anger Management Issues

**Wow, chapter ten... And over sixty reviews**

**If you ask me that's really good**

**I love all of you so much, my little mutants! Like my pet name for you all? Adorable huh? :3**

**I don't know whether you guys realised but Donnie's little phrase for Raphael's moods (turtle tantrum) is from the third TMNT movie:-) he says 'uh oh, turtle tantrum!'**

**I'm gonna be putting in little Easter eggs in chapters from now on and you guys can guess what TMNT series/movies they're off! Sound like a plan? Good!**

**The idea for this chapter was given to me by *drumrollpls* PULDOH! I love that dude**

**I dont own TMNT though I'd love to**

**ON WIV DA SHOW! Or story... Ehm... I confuse myself**

Practice today. Again. Raphael let out a loud moan and yawned as he realised that. He held his blanket tighter to him and nuzzled his pillow. Splinter was training them so hard lately and it was tiring Raph out. It didn't seem to be tiring his other siblings out, though, which confused him.

Finding that he was unable to get back to sleep, he sat up and outstretched his arms. He looked around. He couldn't see his dad. He's probably just gone topside again.

Sighing, he stood up and took the wooden sword in his hands. He practiced a few techniques but didn't do them as well as Leo could. And that made him angry.

Why was Leo the one who was aloud to boss Raph and his brothers around anyway?

'I'm way stronger than him,' Raphael thought, throwing the wooden sword vigorously on the floor, breaking it in two in the process.

Leonardo, hearing the sound of the wood break, jumped up. "Raphael?" His brow furrowed and as he saw the sword laying in two on the floor, he looked as if he could cry. "What did you do?!" He yelled.

"What?" Raphael looked at the sword and shrugged. "It was getting all worn out anyway!"

"That doesn't mean you should break it on purpose!" Leo argued, picked up the two wooden pieces and attempted to fix it by smashing them together, only to make it worse. "Dang it!" He exclaimed.

"Anyway," Raphael scowled at his brother. "What gives you the right to boss us around, like your little soldiers?" He asked, jabbing Leo in the chest.

"Don't poke me!" Leo asked frustratedly. "And I don't! I'm just trying to be a good big brother Raph! It's not as easy as it looks!"

"Yeah, right," Raph snorted. "I could be a better big brother than you in my sleep."

"If you were sleeping, then you wouldn't be doing much big-brothering, would you?" Leo said smugly. "Fine. You think you can be a better brother? Go ahead and try."

"Fine." Raph frowned and walked over to a snoring Mikey.

"Fine." Leo repeated and walked over to a sleeping Donatello.

"Hey, Mikey. Wake up," Raph nudged Mikey's shell. His youngest brother twisted around and saw him.

"Five more minutes..." He murmured, pushing away Raphael's face with his hand.

"Don't touch me," the angry turtle frowned and slapped away Mikey's hand.

"Ow! Gosh, you don't need to keep doing that!" Mikey stood up in an instant and glared at Raph.

"Whatever. It's time for training!" Raphael said.

"Yippee." Mikey sighed. They walked to the centre of the room. "Hey, where's daddy?"

"Up there, I think," Raphael looked at the roof of the station then back at Mikey. "We don't really need him to practice."

"Is that correct?" Splinter said, looking down at Raphael with a slight grin.

"Dad! I, uh, I didn't mean..." Raph stuttered.

"I know, my son," chuckled Splinter. He stopped chuckling when he saw the broken wooden sword. "And who's fault is that?" He asked sternly.

"Mine..." Raph looked at his feet.

"How did you manage to break a piece of wood, Raphael?" Splinter asked.

Leo stood up and walked over to Splinter. "He threw it on the ground, Sensei."

"Tattle tale!" Raph exclaimed.

"Hot head!" Leonardo shouted back.

"Boys! Has there been some trouble whilst I have been gone?!" Splinter yelled.

"Just an argument, dad," Raph sighed.

"And what was the cause of the argument?"

"Raph thinks I'm bossy," Leo looked down.

"Leo thinks he's the best! 'Oh, look at me! I'm Leo! I'm the favourite! Blah, blah, blah!'" Raphael mocked.

"I have told you once, Raphael. I have no favourite." Splinter frowned.

"Yeah, okay," Raphael grunted and shoved past Leo, who stuck his tongue out at Raphael.

"I do not care for this immaturity, my sons. It is a waste of time." Splinter sighed and set down his smaller bag.

"What's in the bag?" Mikey asked, jumping around it.

"Supplies." Splinter told him.

"Ooooh, what kind of supplies? Weapons? Ninja weapons?!" Mikey got more and more excited as he thought about it.

Donatello woke to find Raphael in 'his corner', sulking with his knees pulled up to his chin.

"Raph?" Donnie frowned and stood, walking up to his brother but not crossing 'the line' which he had drawn with a crayon.

"What?" He muttered.

"You okay?" He tilted his head.

"Yeah," he replied flatly.

"You sure?"

"What's with all the questions?! Leave me alone!" He exclaimed, throwing the cardboard sign at Donnie's head.

"RAPHAEL!" Splinter shouted, his voice echoing. Donnie held his head, nearly in tears at his brother's outburst of anger.

"Oh, Don, I... I'm so sorry..." Raphael stood, attempting to hug his younger brother, only to get pushed away.

"Don't touch me, you meat head," Donnie said quietly, tears falling onto his plastron. He quickly walked out of the station, clearly not wanting anyone to see him in his emotional state. Splinter didn't mind much; this was his most intelligent son, he knew not to wander far.

"I am sick of your anger, Raphael!" Splinter yelled. "Let it consume you, and soon you will lose sight of everything."

"I'm sorry, dad... I just... I can't control... I can't control it..." He stuttered, looking down at his clenched fists.

"I know. That is why I brought this," Splinter walked up to his smaller bag and picked up a small punching bag with ease, though it looked quite heavy. Raphael frowned.

"And that is...?" He crossed his arms.

"It is called a punching bag, my son. You use it to build up muscle, or take out your anger on it." He tied it to a loose nail on the wall.

"Hm. I don't see how this could..." Raphael punched the bag a few times, and instantly he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of him. "Actually..." A couple more punches. "Yeah... Yeah, this could work. This could definitely work." He grinned.

"Yes. It used to help me, when I was a young man," Splinter sighed as he thought of an old memory, but managed to stop himself.

"Suppose I should go talk to Don," Raph murmured.

"That is a wise decision." Splinter nodded. He crouched down and whispered in Raphael's ear, "maybe you should apologise to Leonardo, as well. His attempts at being a good older brother are an inspiration. You shouldn't see this as a challenge."

Raphael inhaled. "Hai, Sensei."

The turtle walked slowly up to Leonardo, muttered a short apology, which Leo accepted, and then he headed out into the sewers, where he could hear Donatello sniffing.

"Hey..." Raphael smiled slightly. Donatello stayed silent, rubbing his nose. "I'm sorry, for throwing my sign at you..."

Donatello looked at Raph.

"And I'm sorry for hurting your face." Raphael tried. Donatello smiled slightly.

"It's okay... I guess I overreacted slightly..." He said.

Raphael opened his arms. "Bros?" He asked with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Bros," Donatello agreed, and joined his brother in an awkward hug. After a few moments of just standing there with their arms wrapped around each other's shells, Raphael spoke up.

"Should we let go now?"

"Uh, sure," Donnie said and placed his arms by his sides again.

"Love you, bro," Raph said quietly.

"Wait, what was that?" Donnie grinned.

"Tell the others and I'll smack you outta your shell." Raphael frowned.

"Tell the others what?"

The brothers chuckled and headed back into their station, large smiles on their faces.

**This kinda turned out to be two ideas merged into one. Ah, well. A big THANK YOU to Puldoh for the ideas, though. You're an awesome dude!**

**And there's a lot of speech in this, not much description... But i just let my fingers type and this is the outcome**

**BAIBAIPPLS**


	11. Chapter 11 - A Birthday and a Pet

"Doo, doo doo doooo! Do, doo doo dooooooo! Da, da da da!" Michelangelo sang happily whilst colouring in one of his sketches. As weeks went by, Splinter noticed that his drawings were getting noticeably better. He had went from drawing stick men to people with bodies and fingers in a few months, without any special teaching. And to Splinter, this meant that his son's young brain wasn't just filled with thoughts of cartoons and food.

"May I ask what you are drawing, Michelangelo?" Splinter questioned, looking over Mikey's shoulder. Of course, he could already see the drawing, but he wanted his son to know he was interested in his little sketches.

"Uh... It's... It's not ready yet!" He stuttered, quickly sitting on the drawing so his father couldn't see it anymore. Splinter frowned and stroked his long chin beard.

"Hmm. Okay. Tell me when it is complete, and we shall look at it together." Splinter said. Michelangelo nodded slightly and once Splinter had walked away, he began colouring again.

The mutant rat walked over to his second youngest son, Donatello, who seemed to be working on some sort of machine.

"What are you working on, my son?" Splinter asked, bending his knees slightly to get a closer look at the doo-hickey.

Donnie jumped when he heard his father's voice, and stood up, arms outstretched, trying to cover the machine as best he could. "N-nothing, Sensei!" He stammered.

Splinter raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure, Donatello? It looks like a very complex piece of machinery."

"I'm sure!" Donnie nodded frantically.

"Alright, then," Confused, Splinter walked over to Leonardo, who was holding something that was a very light brown colour in one hand, and a blunt knife in another.

"Dad! You can't see this!" Leonardo exclaimed, hiding whatever it was behind his back.

"And why is that?" Splinter asked, getting frustrated with his boys' secrets.

"Because... You can't! It's..." Leonardo searched his brain for something to say, but nothing came to mind.

"I don't think we can keep this a secret for much longer..." Raphael spoke up, pushing himself off the ground and walking over to his father.

"Secret?" Splinter's eyes widened. They were too young to be keeping secrets from their father, surely.

Michelangelo stood, his paper behind his back. Donatello also stood up, wrapping a rope around his machine and pulling it towards Splinter. Leonardo stayed in the same spot, but with the objects still hidden behind his shell.

"Daddy, we... kinda... accidentally... read your diary..." Mikey murmured, looking down.

"You read?" Splinter smiled slightly. Mikey definitely was making progress, with reading as well as drawing. His smile faded, however, when he noticed what else his son had said. "My journal? !" He exclaimed.

"We're so sorry, Sensei." Donnie sighed and looked down.

"But it was kind of worth it," Leonardo smiled.

"Because we found something out." Raphael grinned.

Splinter's heart skipped a beat slightly. 'We found something'. Something bad? Something good? What?

"Oh, really?" Splinter managed to say. All four turtles exchanged looks with each other, before showing their father what they had been working on.

"Happy birthday, Sensei!" They all cried out in unison. Splinter breathed a sigh of relief. Oh, yes. His birthday. He smiled.

"Thank you," he chuckled and looked down at his gifts. Michelangelo presented a card, with his little family drawn on the front. Although they all had an odd number of fingers on each hand, and Mikey had forgotten to draw shells on himself and his brothers, the drawing was spot on. Splinter smiled warmly and took the card carefully. Inside, it read:

'You are our master,

You are our dad,

You are our guardian,

And you're totally rad!'

Michelangelo smiled proudly. Splinter hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, my son." He grinned.

Donatello walked a few steps to the side, to show his father what he had been working on. The portable DVD player (which Splinter hadn't seen for a while now, come to think of it) had been transformed into a large television set, which had a DVD player built in. God only knew how. Splinter's eyes widened as he realised just how intelligent his gap-toothed son really was.

"Donatello, you truly have a gift," he smiled and hugged Donnie also.

"Hehe... I try." He blushed slightly.

Splinter then looked to Leonardo, who presented to him a small wooden statue of Splinter himself. Splinter took it into his hands, pleasantly surprised by how detailed everything was.

"My sons, thank you so much for all of my gifts. Although they were not needed, I am thankful." Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo all joined Splinter in one of their family hugs, but the rodent's brow furrowed when he realised Raphael did not join them.

He let go of his boys and looked around the room. He wasn't there.

He ran straight for the sewers, where he saw Raphael bending over something.

"Raphael, it is freezing tonight. Get back in here!" Splinter yelled.

"Wait, I..." He said, holding something in his hands.

"No, I will not wait. Come back here now!" He shouted.

Sighing, Raphael held whatever he was holding to his plastron tightly and made his way towards his home again.

"What is that you're holding?" Splinter asked once Raphael was back inside. The turtle had a worried expression on his face, and opened up his hands, only to show a normal, non-mutated turtle.

"I... I didn't know what to get you as a present... So I was searching for one yesterday when you went up top," Raphael gestured upwards with his eyes, "And I found this little guy, under all the garbage."

Leonardo walked over to his brother and Sensei, and the little turtle in his brother's hands caught his eye. He smiled.

"Cool!" He grinned. "Is this Raphael's new pet, dad?"

Splinter thought about it for a moment. He doubted his life was going to get any worse: he was a mutant rat with four male mutant children, who just happened to be turtles. What affect could this normal turtle possibly have on his life?

"I suppose so, yes. But if anything happens to it, Raphael, I am holding you responsible." He looked at Raphael, who didn't even give Splinter a second glance. He just smiled happily - the happiest he'd ever been, probably - and placed his new pet on the floor. He lay in front of him, stroking his head.

"I'mma call you Spike. You like that name?" Raphael grinned. 'Spike' just stared at Raphael. "Well, you better." The usually angry tot chuckled giddily.

'At least he has found a friend,' Splinter thought before his daily meditation.

**Hey there guys! I'm back! :-) I've been doing homework these past few days, which explains the lack of updating. But the 'How Raph got Spike' story has been on mind so I just wrote it.**

**I don't own TMNT ;3 until the next chapter, my little mutants!**


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